Currencies
Most people in the Known Lands, even in the Gloaming North with its paper currencies and intricate system of banking and credit, recognize and accept metal coins and ingots as money. Gold and silver are the favored metals for coins, though there are a few others. The oldest extant mints are the Imperial Mint of Cathargalis in the East and the Vault of Gozenram in the South. Because of the Vault's more central location relative to other lands, the coinage of Gozenram, especially its silver coin the Shekel, are the coins to which all others are compared. Currencies of the Shining South Gozenram has the oldest tradition of minting coins, there are ancient examples thought to precede the first Pharaoh of old. The Vault maintains high standards of consistent weight and purity that makes their coins considered highly secure, their partnership with the Temple of the Spider does much to curtail counterfeiting. The city of El-Andrel does not mint its own coinage, and Abydos is far too impoverished to do so, they both typically accept any reliable coins. The remaining great cities were forced to accept the ubiquity of the shekel, but they maintain other coins of their own out of a fierce independent streak (and anti-Gozenrami sentiment). Gold coins are typically an alloy of gold, silver, and nickel. Silver coins are typically an alloy of silver and nickel. Gozenram *'Cent': 0.25 troy ounces copper, 1/100 Shekel. The most frequently handled coin in Gozenram and much of the South, most common folk receive their wages in the form of these thin, pentagonal wedges with a tiny hole in the center to accommodate a length of string. The Vault does its best to collect old, worn coins and remint them but it's not uncommon to be handed coins with the standard image of the Beyler-Bey's sigil worn away on either side. *'Shekel': 0.5 troy ounce silver. These pentagonal discs bear the likeness of the Beyler-Bey on the obverse and a spider at the center of a web on the reverse with the words in Gozenrami, "Trust that The Spider Knows." Conveniently sized, easy to stack, and historically reliable the Shekel is the dominant coin of the South and is even accepted in many foreign ports, though more rustic outlanders are probably unfamiliar with it. *'Zuz': 0.5 troy ounce gold, 25 Shekels. The obverse bears a depiction of a typical Gozenrami oared galleon, while the reverse depicts The Thunder of His Hooves, a northron cannon captured by local partisans during a northern occupation of the city and held to this day in the palace of the Beyler-Bey. Hakeshar Hakeshar's Counting House is a fortress jointly protected by fanatical servants of the Temple of the Bull and the soldiers of whatever Great House holds the Agha-Beyship. *'Dinar': 1 troy ounce gold, 50 Shekels. These circular discs bear a rampant bull on the obverse and a classic charioteer on the reverse. They are used primarily by the Great Houses and wealthy merchants when conducting large transactions, such as the purchase of high quality slaves. *'Dirham': 1 troy ounce silver, 2 Shekels. Obstinately larger than the Shekel, this circular disc is oversized so that the profile of a Rivenstone champion may appear on the obverse, and the sigil of their House on the reverse. Some people collect the Dirham, trying to obtain the likeness of every champion. Maram The Padishah-e-Ghazi is said to hold tight the reins of Maram's mint, believed to be in the depths of Stonekeep. *'Aquila': 1 troy ounce gold, 50 Shekels. A circular disc with the two-headed guise of The Eagle on the obverse, and a single headed incarnation, clutching a serpent in its talons on the reverse. It serves a similar function as Hakeshar's Dinar, as Maram's warrior-nobility would not deign to handle the coinage of their hated rivals. *'Talon': 0.25 ounce iron, 1/100 Shekel in Maram's territory. These triangular wedges are made from scrap and pig iron deemed unsuitable for other use. They're used only in the most minor of street purchases and to pay incidental tolls. *'Throne': 0.5 troy ounce silver, 2 Shekels. Maram maintains their own silver coins out of bitterness towards its northern rivals. These circular coins with an image of the iron throne on the obverse and the iron crown on the reverse are just as inconveniently sized as the Dirham, with none of its collector appeal. Quelosq The Temple of the Deep assumes the responsibility of minting coins in Quelosq, notoriously shunning the use of pure silver in favor of high gold content coinage. Some outsiders bear superstitious fear of their coins, which they refer to as "blue," or "green," gold for it is said the grim, devout fishermen of the city haul it up in their nets with the fish. *'Hekte': 2.0 troy ounce gold, 100 Shekels. The largest coin minted in the south, this circular disc bears the image of an eight pointed star on the obverse and a pair of fish, chasing each other's tails on the reverse. *'Trite': 0.5 troy ounce electrum, 10 Shekels. A circular disc with an image of a five pointed star on the obverse, its penumbra facing downward relative to the image of a conch shell on the reverse. Currencies of the Gloaming North Delvarra & Suddesco *'Moidore' (m) Luddovicco, Morbihannan & Zilaresco *'Ducat' (đ) a gold-backed minted currency that has recently transitioned into a paper form. The traditional golden ducat is in the process of being phased out in favour of the more accessible Lira for use as standard currency of the Altane states, with trade in ducats increasingly frowned upon by the various trading guilds of the Gloaming North. Notes are available in values of 1, 3, 5 and 10. *'Lira' a silver-backed paper currency that comes in several denominations, all redeemable at their respective institution's main counting houses. Each of the Altane nations has a cabal of banks printing their own, meaning that there are actually three varieties of Lira. They all bear the arms and portrait of their nations respective Prince as well as their own national flags, but for those ignorant to the imagery, the color of the notes sets the different Lira apart: Zilaresco's "Green Leaves," Morbihannan's "Blue-Backs," and Luddovicco's "Red Slips." The historically responsible and conservative nature of the banks in the north has led to the perception of the Lira being a secure store of wealth, even if people who live further away from the counting houses where their paper money can be redeemed tend to grumble. Notes are available in values of 1, 3, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1000, and 5000. *'Cent' 1/100 division of the lira standard currency struck from a tin-copper alloy. Nevira & Tulles *'Corona' (Ç) Gilderdammen Being a multi-national, multicultural Empire, the Mancus is only the first amongst dozens of local currencies. The Mancus is divided into three additional currencies. *'Mancus' (M) Tearvin: Манкўс) 0.5 troy ounce gold, 25 Shekels. *'Ezbdt' (Еѯбдт) copper-nickel alloy, 2.5 Shekels. *'Heuctl' (Ћыуктл) copper-tin alloy, 0.25 Shekels. *'Ume' (Уме) copper-tin alloy 0.025 Shekels. Tyvic *'Zloty' (ż) appearing in denominations of 1 (sterling silver; 5.3 g) and 3 (gold; 10.3 g), these discs bear on the obverse the image of Emperor Tsymovovak II affronty with his name, the four digits of the year of its minting and/or issue, and the numerical value and name of the coin written in full. On the reverse it features The Stallion enstamped with the phrase "Tyvic is not yet lost" in Vuscovi. Occasionally variants of the coin are released to commemorate events, replacing the image on the reverse with depictions of whatever is celebrated. Well-known examples include the proclaimed Empyrian victory following the Second Vuscovi Civil War, and recently, the 2000th anniversary of The Stallion's reckoning. The 3 Zloty coin is approximately equivalent to 1/4 troy ounces of gold, or 12.498 shekels. *'Brautym' 1/132 (1/Ɛ0) Zloty, copper; 2g. These small discs bear the Arms of Tyvic embossed on the obverse, and the fraction "1/Ɛ0" on the reverse in a large typeface, filling the breadth of the side's surface, with the four digits of the year of its minting and/or issue in a smaller type underneath. The Brautym is the most commonly seen coinage in Tyvic, with generation upon generation of its overwhelming peasant population only ever seeing the coin variant, be they the few sparse copper pieces they receive at the end of each day's labour, or when they are used to purchase whatever goods they cannot produce themselves. Due to the value of these coins, they have continually been modified so that their value exceeds the materials that used to produce them, both to save minting funds and so that no peasant could ever melt them down to sell the raw metals for a profit. Two major changes have been a reduction of size from 2.5 to 2g, and a simplification of the strike and coin die. Additionally, patinated copper is still recognised as legal tender, reducing the need to mint new coins. A single Brautym is approximately equivalent to 0.031 Shekels. Currencies of the Eternal East Cathargalis *'Basilikon' *'Histamenon' Exchange Rates = base currency. = actual value-per-weight of the metal is less than the representative value of the currency. Category:Miscellaneous